Dolam Solution in Sight

By Sbu Mjikeliso Windhoek After weeks of consultation between the city of Windhoek and the Dolam residents squatting at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, a solution is finally on the cards. The city council has decided to compensate the 14 families whose houses were flooded for their loss through its public liability insurance. City of Windhoek Mayor Matheus Shikongo announced this when he addressed council members at their monthly meeting on Wednesday. Although this may be the case, the city council has specified that this decision should not be interpreted as an acknowledgement of debt or liability by the city council relating to the cause of the floods. The compensation was merely a social responsibility gesture. The compensation amount is yet to be disclosed. The engineering assessors’ report has been finalised and an independent consultant report is being awaited. This report is set to aid the city council in determining what possible measures could be taken in order to prevent such an event recurring. At the moment, the Dolam community is in the process of finalising plans for the cleaning operation and the application of disinfectants to the houses to begin. “It is worth noting that such compensation will be based on market value,” Shikongo added. “The people are happy about these recent developments but they find it difficult to understand what ‘market value’ really means. They have had similar phrases thrown at them in the past and nothing developed further,” community activist Rosa Namises told New Era. “They are also no longer against the cleaning but only after the compensation matter has been cleared,” Namises added.